Conti raises '16 earnings forecast

HANNOVER, Germany (April 29, 2016) — Continental A.G. is raising its earnings forecast for fiscal 2016 slightly, based on better-than-expected sales growth in the first quarter, particularly in the tire and rubber sectors.

He attributed much of volume growth to the tire division and the stabilization of industrial business at the company's ContiTech unit.

“

Photo

(Continental A.G. photo)

Conti Chairman Elmar Degenhart

"We expect the good development in the Rubber Group to continue over the remainder of the year, while the Automotive Group is expected to gain notable momentum again,” Mr. Degenhart said. As a result, Conti is raising its adjusted EBIT margin forecast to 11 percent from more than 10.5 percent.

Sales in the quarter ended March 31 rose to $10.9 billion, while the adjusted EBIT rose slightly to $1.21 billion, or 11.3 percent of sales, the company said.

The Rubber Group achieved sales growth of more than 5 percent after adjustment for exchange-rate effects and changes in the scope of consolidation, according to Mr. Degenhart.

“We significantly increased our sales volumes for tires and other products in the field of rubber and plastics technology compared with the previous year,” he added.

Continental will present its business figures for the first quarter of 2016 on May 4.

Letter

to the

Editor

Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].